Governor Announces Good Economic News for Virginia

Posted: July 1, 2011 at 1:00 am, Last Updated: June 30, 2011 at 8:34 pm

In the past two weeks, Gov. Bob McDonnell has made two announcements that signal Virginia’s continuing economic recovery.

First, the American Legislative Exchange Council released its report, “Rich States, Poor States,” rating states in 15 categories of economic competitiveness. The report showed that Virginia’s rank in “economic outlook” has improved from eighth in the nation last year to third this year.

According to the report, Virginia now holds the highest ranking east of the Mississippi River and is the only mid-Atlantic state to rank in the top 20.

Then, earlier this week, CNBC named Virginia America’s “Top State for Business.” In this study, Virginia finished in the top half of every category ranked.

In a news release from the governor’s office, McDonnell commented, “Every Virginian deserves a quality job in the community that they call home. Our focus, from day one of this administration, has been to put in place the policies that will help private-sector businesses create those jobs in the commonwealth and get our economy back on track. We’ve done that by keeping taxes low, getting government spending under control, having a strong Right to Work law and making smart investments in transportation, economic development and higher education.”

The release went on to point out that the unemployment rate in Virginia dropped from 7.2 percent in February 2010 to 6 percent currently, which is more than three points below the national average.